Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osbourne said he found out about a serious investigation in Livingston County into his former deputy, 29-year-old Kristofor O’Rourke, the day after he fired him for a separate incident. A female victim in Tompkins County came forward alleging an uncomfortable encounter with O'Rourke.
"We investigated it, and she was very believable," Osbourne said. "We were able to substantiate her accusation against him, and based on that and the fact that he was serving with us on a probationary status, we terminated him right away."
The Livingston County District Attorney's Office and New York State Police announced the arrest of a former Geneseo Police Department officer for sexual misconduct on the job. O'Rourke pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of third-degree criminal sexual act and the official misconduct misdemeanor charge in his arraignment Monday evening.
He was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in the Village of Geneseo court on December 13. He also signed an order or protection to stay away from the victim.
On July 1, it is alleged he engaged in a traffic stop in Geneseo, arrested a woman for aggravated driving while intoxicated and then engaged in improper sexual misconduct with the woman later on.
Charges filed against him alleged that O'Rourke engaged in oral sexual conduct with the woman without her consent, threatening to take her to jail if she didn't comply.
O'Rourke is being charged with third-degree felony criminal sexual act and misdemeanor official misconduct in connection to the incident. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 18 months to 4 years in the state's Department of Corrections if he's convicted.
O'Rourke voluntarily resigned from the Geneseo Police Department in August this year to accept another position with the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.
On November 9, TCSO was alerted of a complaint made by a community member to law enforcement in Cortland County. The subject of the complaint was identified as O'Rourke, who was still working for the department at that time.
After TCSO learned that the complaint alleged serious misconduct, TCSO said O'Rourke was immediately placed on administrative leave.
"We sent requests to every law enforcement agency that we thought he could’ve had any contact or dealings with. With didn’t get anything back that was concerning to us at the time or we wouldn’t have hired him," said Sheriff Osbourne, referring to the vetting process when he got hired.
The initial investigation conducted by TCSO found that O'Rourke engaged in inappropriate sexual conversations with a member of the public while he was on duty. He was fired from the department Nov. 21.
After TCSO consulted with the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office, it was determined the conduct didn't rise to the level of a criminal charge. Other cases O'Rourke was involved in are currently being reviewed.
He was also employed by two other police departments in New York state, working as a part-time officer with the Mount Morris Police Department from May to November of 2021, and also working for the Watkins Glen Police Department. Both of those department assisted with the investigation.
Authorities are asking anyone who has any information about improper misconduct O'Rourke may have engaged in, to contact NYSP at (585) 398-4100.